Substrate transport apparatus

ABSTRACT

A transport apparatus including a frame, a drive section connected to the frame, the drive section having at least one drive axis, at least one arm having an end effector configured for holding a substrate, the at least one arm being connected to the drive section by a transmission link and having at least one degree of freedom axis effecting extension and retraction of the end effector with respect to the at least one arm, and a bearing connected to the frame and the end effector, the bearing defining a guideway that defines the at least one degree of freedom axis.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/110,130, filed Jul. 7, 2016, (Now U.S. Pat. No. 11,273,558, issuedMar. 15, 2022) the National Stage Application of InternationalApplication No. PCT/US2015/011764, having an International Filing Dateof Jan. 16, 2015, which designates the United States of America, andwhich International Application was published under PCT Article 21(2) asWO Publication No. 2015/109189 A1, which claims priority from, and thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/928,681 filed onJan. 17, 2014, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The exemplary embodiments generally relate to robotic systems and, moreparticularly, to robotic transport apparatus.

2. Brief Description of Related Developments

More precise repeatability regarding substrate positioning is desiredin, for example, semiconductor substrate processing. As an example,repeatability in placement is requested within the range of about 5micron to about 25 micron which is generally a challenge forconventional substrate transport apparatus.

It would be advantageous to provide a robotic transport arm that islightweight, stiff with rigid drive links connecting an end effector ofthe arm with a drive to, for example, substantially remove an impact ofhysteresis and lack of stiffness in the arm linkage or coupling betweenthe drive and the arm linkage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and other features of the disclosed embodiment areexplained in the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGS. 1A-1D are schematic illustrations of processing apparatusincorporating aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIGS. 1E and 1F are schematic illustrations of portions of theprocessing apparatus of FIGS. 1A-1D;

FIG. 2A is a schematic illustration of a robotic transport drive sectionin accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 2B is a schematic illustration of a portion of the robotictransport drive section of FIG. 2A in accordance with aspects of thedisclosed embodiment;

FIG. 2C is a schematic illustration of a portion of the robotictransport drive section of FIG. 2A in accordance with aspects of thedisclosed embodiment;

FIG. 2D is a schematic illustration of a portion of the robotictransport drive section of FIG. 2A in accordance with aspects of thedisclosed embodiment;

FIGS. 3A-3B are schematic illustrations of a robotic transport inaccordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 3C is a schematic illustration of a portion of the robotictransport of FIGS. 3A-3B in accordance with aspects of the disclosedembodiment;

FIGS. 4A-4E are schematic illustrations of portions of the robotictransport of FIGS. 3A-3B in accordance with aspects of the disclosedembodiment;

FIGS. 5A-5F are schematic illustrations of robotic transports inaccordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIGS. 6A-6C are schematic illustrations of a robotic transport inaccordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematic illustrations of a robotic transport inaccordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIGS. 8A-8D are schematic illustrations of a robotic transport inaccordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment; and

FIGS. 9A-9C are schematic illustrations of a robotic transport inaccordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1A-1D are schematic illustrations of substrate processingapparatus in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment.Although the aspects of the disclosed embodiment will be described withreference to the drawings, it should be understood that the aspects ofthe disclosed embodiment can be embodied in many forms. In addition, anysuitable size, shape or type of elements or materials could be used.

The processing apparatus 100A, 100B, 100C, 100D, such as for example asemiconductor tool station, is shown in accordance with aspects of thedisclosed embodiment. Although a semiconductor tool station is shown inthe drawings, the aspects of the disclosed embodiment described hereincan be applied to any tool station or application employing roboticmanipulators. In one aspect the processing apparatus 100A, 100B, 100C,100D are shown as having cluster tool arrangements (e.g. havingsubstrate holding stations connected to a central chamber) while inother aspects the processing apparatus may be a linearly arranged tool,however the aspects of the disclosed embodiment may be applied to anysuitable tool station. The apparatus 100A, 100B, 100C, 100D generallyinclude an atmospheric front end 101, at least one vacuum load lock 102,102A, 102B and a vacuum back end 103. The at least one vacuum load lock102, 102A, 102B may be coupled to any suitable port(s) or opening(s) ofthe front end 101 and/or back end 103 in any suitable arrangement. Forexample, in one aspect the one or more load locks 102, 102A, 102B may bearranged in a common horizontal plane in a side by side arrangement ascan be seen in FIGS. 1B-1C. In other aspects the one or more load locksmay be arranged in a grid format such that at least two load locks 102A,102B, 102C, 102D are arranged in rows (e.g. having spaced aparthorizontal planes) and columns (e.g. having spaced apart verticalplanes) as shown in FIG. 1E. In still other aspects the one or more loadlock may be a single in-line load lock 102 as shown in FIGS. 1A. In yetanother aspect the at least one load lock 102, 102E may be arranged in astacked in-line arrangement as shown in FIG. 1F. It should be understoodthat while the load locks are illustrated on end 100E1 or facet 100F1 ofa transport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D in other aspects the one ormore load lock may be arranged on any number of sides 100S1, 100S2, ends100E1, 100E2 or facets 100F1-100F8 of the transport chamber 125A, 125B,125C, 125D. Each of the at least one load lock may also include one ormore wafer/substrate resting planes WRP (FIG. 1F) in which substratesare held on suitable supports within the respective load lock. In otheraspects, the tool station may have any suitable configuration. Thecomponents of each of the front end 101, the at least one load lock 102,102A, 102B and back end 103 may be connected to a controller 110 whichmay be part of any suitable control architecture such as, for example, aclustered architecture control. The control system may be a closed loopcontroller having a master controller (which in one aspect may becontroller 110), cluster controllers and autonomous remote controllers(which in one aspect may be controllers 110A, 110B illustrated in FIGS.8B and 9B) such as those disclosed in United States patent number7,904,182 entitled “Scalable Motion Control System” issued on March 8,2011 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. In other aspects, any suitable controller and/or controlsystem may be utilized.

In one aspect, the front end 101 generally includes load port modules105 and a mini-environment 106 such as for example an equipment frontend module (EFEM). The load port modules 105 may be box opener/loader totool standard (BOLTS) interfaces that conform to SEMI standards E15.1,E47.1, E62, E19.5 or E1.9 for 300 mm load ports, front opening or bottomopening boxes/pods and cassettes. In other aspects, the load portmodules may be configured as 200 mm wafer/substrate interfaces, 450 mmwafer/substrate interfaces or any other suitable substrate interfacessuch as for example larger or smaller semiconductor wafers/substrates,flat panels for flat panel displays, solar panels, reticles or any othersuitable object. Although three load port modules 105 are shown in FIGS.1A-1D, in other aspects any suitable number of load port modules may beincorporated into the front end 101. The load port modules 105 may beconfigured to receive substrate carriers or cassettes C from an overheadtransport system, automatic guided vehicles, person guided vehicles,rail guided vehicles or from any other suitable transport method. Theload port modules 105 may interface with the mini-environment 106through load ports 107. The load ports 107 may allow the passage ofsubstrates between the substrate cassettes and the mini-environment 106.The mini-environment 106 generally includes any suitable transfer robot108 which may incorporate one or more aspects of the disclosedembodiment described herein. In one aspect the robot 108 may be a trackmounted robot such as that described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No.6,002,840 issued on Dec. 14, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 8,419,341 issued Apr.16, 2013; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,648,327 issued on Jan. 19, 2010, thedisclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties. In other aspects the robot 108 may be substantially similarto that described herein with respect to the back end 103. Themini-environment 106 may provide a controlled, clean zone for substratetransfer between multiple load port modules.

The at least one vacuum load lock 102, 102A, 102B may be located betweenand connected to the mini-environment 106 and the back end 103. In otheraspects the load ports 105 may be coupled substantially directly to theat least one load lock 102, 102A, 102B or the transport chamber 125A,125B, 125C, 125D where the substrate carrier C is pumped down to avacuum of the transport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D and substratesare transferred directly between the substrate carrier C and the loadlock or transfer chamber. In this aspect, the substrate carrier C mayfunction as a load lock such that a processing vacuum of the transportchamber extends into the substrate carrier C. As may be realized, wherethe substrate carrier C is coupled substantially directly to the loadlock through a suitable load port any suitable transfer apparatus may beprovided within the load lock or otherwise have access to the carrier Cfor transferring substrates to and from the substrate carrier C. It isnoted that the term vacuum as used herein may denote a high vacuum suchas 10⁻⁵ Torr or below in which the substrates are processed. The atleast one load lock 102, 102A, 102B generally includes atmospheric andvacuum slot valves. The slot valves of the load locks 102, 102A, 102B(as well as for the processing stations 130) may provide theenvironmental isolation employed to evacuate the load lock after loadinga substrate from the atmospheric front end and to maintain the vacuum inthe transport chamber when venting the lock with an inert gas such asnitrogen. As will be described herein, the slot valves of the processingapparatus 100A, 100B, 100C, 100D may be located in the same plane,different vertically stacked planes or a combination of slot valveslocated in the same plane and slot valves located in differentvertically stacked planes (as described above with respect to the loadports) to accommodate transfer of substrates to and from at least theprocessing stations 130 and load locks 102, 102A, 102B coupled to thetransport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D. The at least one load lock102, 102A, 102B (and/or the front end 101) may also include an alignerfor aligning a fiducial of the substrate to a desired position forprocessing or any other suitable substrate metrology equipment. In otheraspects, the vacuum load lock may be located in any suitable location ofthe processing apparatus and have any suitable configuration.

The vacuum back end 103 generally includes a transport chamber 125A,125B, 125C, 125D, one or more processing station(s) 130 and any suitablenumber of transfer unit modules 104 that includes one or more transferrobots which may include one or more aspects of the disclosedembodiments described herein. The transport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C,125D may have any suitable shape and size that, for example, complieswith SEMI standard E72 guidelines. The transfer unit module(s) 104 andthe one or more transfer robot will be described below and may belocated at least partly within the transport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C,125D to transport substrates between the load lock 102, 102A, 102B (orbetween a cassette C located at a load port) and the various processingstations 130. In one aspect the transfer unit module 104 may beremovable from the transport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D as modularunit such that the transfer unit module 104 complies with SEMI standardE72 guidelines.

The processing stations 130 may operate on the substrates throughvarious deposition, etching, or other types of processes to formelectrical circuitry or other desired structure on the substrates.Typical processes include but are not limited to thin film processesthat use a vacuum such as plasma etch or other etching processes,chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma vapor deposition (PVD),implantation such as ion implantation, metrology, rapid thermalprocessing (RTP), dry strip atomic layer deposition (ALD),oxidation/diffusion, forming of nitrides, vacuum lithography, epitaxy(EPI), wire bonder and evaporation or other thin film processes that usevacuum pressures. The processing stations 130 are communicably connectedto the transport chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D in any suitable manner,such as through slot valves SV, to allow substrates to be passed fromthe transport chamber 125 to the processing stations 130 and vice versa.The slot valves SV of the transport chamber 125 may be arranged to allowfor the connection of twin (e.g. more than one substrate processingchamber located within a common housing) or side-by-side processstations 130T1, 130T2, single process stations 130S and/or stackedprocess modules/load locks (FIGS. 1E and 1F).

It is noted that the transfer of substrates to and from the processingstation 130, load locks 102, 102A, 102B (or cassette C) coupled to thetransfer chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D may occur when one or more armsof the transfer unit module 104 are aligned with a predeterminedprocessing station 130. In accordance with aspects of the disclosedembodiment one or more substrates may be transferred to a respectivepredetermined processing station 130 individually or substantiallysimultaneously (e.g. such as when substrates are picked/placed fromside-by-side or tandem processing stations as shown in FIGS. 1B, 1C and1D. In one aspect the transfer unit module 104 may be mounted on a boomarm 143 (see e.g. FIG. 1D) or linear carriage 144 such as that describedin U.S. provisional patent application Nos. 61/892,849 entitled“Processing Apparatus” and filed on Oct. 18, 2013 and 61/904,908entitled “Processing Apparatus” and filed on Nov. 15, 2013 andInternational patent application number PCT/US13/25513 entitled“Substrate Processing Apparatus” and filed on Feb. 11, 2013, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B and 5B in one aspect the transferunit module 104 includes at least one drive section 200, 200A, 200B(FIGS. 6A and 6B) and at least one transfer arm portion 371 having atleast one transfer arm 300, 301. The at least one drive section mayinclude a common drive section 200 that includes a frame 200F thathouses one or more of a Z axis drive 270 and a rotational drive section282. An interior 200FI of the frame 200F may be sealed in any suitablemanner as will be described below. In one aspect the Z axis drive may beany suitable drive configured to move the at least one transfer arm 300,301 along the Z axis. The Z axis drive is illustrated in FIG. 2 as ascrew type drive but in other aspects the drive may be any suitablelinear drive such as a linear actuator, piezo motor, etc. The rotationaldrive section 282 may be configured as any suitable drive section suchas, for example, a harmonic drive section. For example, the rotationaldrive section 282 may include any suitable number of coaxially arrangedharmonic drive motors 280, such as can be seen in FIG. 2B where thedrive section 282 includes three coaxially arranged harmonic drivemotors 280, 280A, 280B. In other aspects the drives of drive section 282may be located side-by-side and/or in a coaxial arrangement. In oneaspect the rotational drive section 282 shown in FIG. 2 includes oneharmonic drive motor 280 for driving shaft 280S however, in otheraspects the drive section may include any suitable number of harmonicdrive motors 280, 280A, 280B (FIG. 2B) corresponding to, for example,any suitable number of drive shafts 280S, 280AS, 280BS (FIG. 2B) in thecoaxial drive system. The harmonic drive motor 280 may have highcapacity output bearings such that the component pieces of aferrofluidic seal 276, 277, are centered and supported at least in partby the harmonic drive motor 280 with sufficient stability and clearanceduring desired rotation T and extension R1, R2 movements of the transferunit module 104. It is noted that the ferrofluidic seal 276, 277 mayinclude several parts that form a substantially concentric coaxial sealas will be described below. In this example the rotational drive section282 includes a housing 281 that houses one or more drive motor 280 whichmay be substantially similar to that described above and/or in U.S. Pat.Nos. 6,845,250; 5,899,658; 5,813,823; and 5,720,590, the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. Theferrofluidic seal 276, 277 can be toleranced to seal each drive shaft280S, 280AS, 280BS in the drive shaft assembly. In one aspect aferrofluidic seal may not be provided. For example, the drive section282 may include drives having stators that are substantially sealed fromthe environment in which the transport arms operate while the rotors anddrive shafts share the environment in which the arms operate. Suitableexamples, of drive sections that do not have ferrofluidic seals and maybe employed in the aspects of the disclosed embodiment include theMagnaTran® 7 and MagnaTran® 8 robot drive sections from BrooksAutomation, Inc. which may have a sealed can arrangement as will bedescribed below. It is noted that drive shaft(s) 280S, 280AS, 280BS mayalso have a hollow construction (e.g. has a hole running longitudinallyalong a center of the drive shaft) to allow for the passage of wires 290or any other suitable items through the drive assembly for connectionto, for example, another drive section (e.g. such as drive section 200A,200B as will be described below with respect to, e.g. FIGS. 5E, 6A-9C),any suitable position encoders, controllers, and/or the at least onetransfer arm 300, 301, mounted to the drive 200. As may be realized,each of the drive motors of drive section 200, 200A, 200B may includeany suitable encoders configured to detect a position of the respectivemotor for determining a position of the end effector 300E, 301E of eachtransport arm 300, 301.

In one aspect the housing 281 may be mounted to a carriage 270C which iscoupled to the Z axis drive 270 such that the Z axis drive 270 moves thecarriage (and the housing 281 located thereon) along the Z axis. As maybe realized, to seal the controlled atmosphere in which the at least onetransfer arm 300, 301 operates from an interior of the drive 200 (whichmay operate in an atmospheric pressure ATM environment) may include oneor more of the ferrofluidic seal 276, 277 described above and a bellowsseal 275. The bellows seal 275 may have one end coupled to the carriage270C and another end coupled to any suitable portion of the frame 200FIso that the interior 200FI of the frame 200F is isolated from thecontrolled atmosphere in which the at least one transfer arm 300, 301operates.

In other aspects, as noted above, a drive having stators that are sealedfrom the atmosphere in which the transport arms operate without aferrofluidic seal, such as the MagnaTran® 7 and MagnaTran® 8 robot drivesections from Brooks Automation, Inc., may be provided on the carriage270C. For example, referring also to FIGS. 2C and 2D the rotationaldrive section 282 is configured so that the motor stators are sealedfrom the environment in which the robot arms operate while the motorrotors share the environment in which the robot arms operate. FIG. 2Cillustrates a coaxial drive having a first drive motor 280′ and a seconddrive motor 280A′. The first drive motor 280′ has a stator 280S′ androtor 280R′ where the rotor 280R′ is coupled to drive shaft 280S. A canseal 280CS may be positioned between the stator 280S′ and rotor 280R′and be connected to the housing 281 in any suitable manner so as to sealthe stator 280S′ from the environment in which the robot arms operate.Similarly the motor 280A′ includes a stator 280AS′ and rotor 280AR′where the rotor 280AR′ is coupled to drive shaft 280AS. A can seal280ACS may be disposed between the stator 280AS′ and rotor 280AR′. Thecan seal 280ACS may be connected to the housing 281 in any suitablemanner so as to seal the stator 280AS′ from the environment in which therobot arms operate. As may be realized any suitable encoder/sensors268A, 268B may be provided for determining a position of the drive shaft(and the arm(s) which the drive shaft(s) operates). Referring to FIG. 2Da tri-axial rotational drive section 282 is illustrated. The tri-axialrotational drive section may be substantially similar to the coaxialdrive section described above with respect to FIG. 2C however, in thisaspect there are three motors 280′, 280A′, 280B′, each having a rotor280R′, 280AR′, 280BR′ coupled to a respective drive shaft 280A, 280AS,280BS. Each motor also includes a respective stator 280S′, 280AS′,280BS′ sealed from the atmosphere in which the robot arm(s) operate by arespective can seal 280SC, 280ACS, 280BCS. As may be realized anysuitable encoders/sensors may be provided as described above withrespect to FIG. 2C for determining a position of the drive shaft (andthe arm(s) which the drive shaft(s) operates). As may be realized, inone aspect the drive shafts of the motors illustrated in FIGS. 2C and 2Dmay not allow for wire 290 feed-through while in other aspects anysuitable seals may be provided so that wires may be passed through, forexample, hollow drive shafts of the motors illustrated in FIGS. 2C and2D.

Referring also to FIGS. 4A-4E in this aspect the drive shaft 280S may becoupled to a base member or frame 310F of the transfer arm portion 371for rotating the transfer arm portion 371 as a unit in the direction ofarrow T about a common axis 470 that may be common to each of the atleast one transfer arm 300, 301. For example, the base member 310F maybe rotated about axis 470 so that the arms 300, 301 are rotated as aunit about the axis 470. The base member 310F may include a mountingportion 450 to which, for example, drive shaft 280S is coupled so thatas drive shaft 280S moves the base member 310F moves with it. Themounting portion 450 may include an aperture 450A through which one ormore drive shafts, such as drive shafts 280AS, 280BS are coupled to oneor more crank members 321. In other aspects the one or more drive shafts280AS, 280S may be coupled to a respective crank member 321 in anysuitable manner, such as through any suitable transmission. In thisaspect the drive, 200 may include two drive shafts where one drive shaft280S is coupled substantially directly to the base member 310F andanother drive shaft 280AS is coupled substantially directly to crankmember 321.

One or more guide rails, tracks or bearings 400, 401 that define adegree of freedom axis and effect extension/retraction of a respectivearm 300, 301 may be mounted to the base member 310F in any suitablemanner. The bearings 400, 401 may be any suitable bearings such aslinear bearings. A first carriage 420 may be moveably mounted or coupledto bearing 400 in any suitable manner. For example the carriage 420 mayinclude a bearing interface portion 420B configured to engage andsupport the carriage on the bearing 400. The carriage 420 may include anarm mounting portion 420P to which the transport arm 300 is coupled. Forexample, the transport arm may include a base 300B and an end effector300E coupled to the base 300B (the end effector may be coupled to thebase so that the base is connected to a top or bottom side of the endeffector, e.g. the base is located above or below the end effector in adifferent plane than the end effector, or the base may be connected tothe end effector so that the base and end effector are located in acommon plane). The base 300B of the transport arm may be coupled to themounting portion 420P in any suitable manner. In other aspects at leastthe base 300B of the transport arm 300 and carriage 420 may beintegrally formed as a unitary one piece member.

A second carriage 421 may be movably mounted or coupled to bearing 401in any suitable manner. For example the carriage 421 may include abearing interface portion 421B configured to engage and support thecarriage on the bearing 401. The carriage 421 may include an armmounting portion 421P to which the transport arm 301 is coupled. Forexample, the transport arm 301 may include a base 301B and an endeffector 301E coupled to the base 301B (the end effector may be fixedlycoupled to the base so that the base is connected to a top or bottomside of the end effector, e.g. the base is located above or below theend effector in a different plane than the end effector, or the base maybe connected to the end effector so that the base and end effector arelocated in a common plane). The base 301B of the transport arm may becoupled to the mounting portion 421P in any suitable manner. In otheraspects at least the base 301B of the transport arm 301 and carriage 421may be integrally formed as a unitary one piece member.

Any suitable cover 310C may be provided over the bearings 400, 401 andat least a portion of the first and second carriages 420, 421 tosubstantially contain any particles generated by the first and secondcarriage 420, 421. In this aspect the arms 300, 301 are illustrated asbeing located one above the other in a stacked arrangement but in otheraspects the arms may be located side-by-side or have any other suitablearrangement. In one aspect one or more suitable sensors or encoders123C, 123D may be placed on the frame 310F and be configured to interactwith one or more of the carriages 420, 421 or the transfer arms 300, 301for determining a position of the end effector. In other aspects sensorsone or more sensors 123A, 13B may be place in the transfer chamber (FIG.1B) for detecting the end effector and/or substrate located thereon fordetermining a position of the end effector and/or substrate thereon.

Each transport arm 300, 301 may be coupled to the crank member 321(which in one aspect may be common to both arms 300, 301) in anysuitable manner. In one aspect the coupling between the crank member 321and the end effector 300E, 301E of each arm 300, 301 may besubstantially rigid while imparting motive forces to drive the endeffector 300E, 301E. For example, the crank member 321 may be anelongated member having any suitable length. The crank member 321 mayhave a proximate end coupled to drive shaft 380S about axis 470. Thecrank member 321 may also have a distal end opposite the proximate end.The distal end may include one or more pivot joints each having a pivotaxis 473, 474. In this aspect the pivot axes 473, 474 are illustrated asbeing side-by-side but in other aspects the pivot axes may be a commonpivot axis or otherwise located axially in-line with each other. In thisaspect the distal end of the crank member 321 has a stepped drive linkinterface where each step 321S1, 321S2 is located any suitable distancefrom each other to so that drive links 322, 323 may be located indifferent planes. In other aspects the crank member 321 may not bestepped.

A drive link 322 may be pivotally coupled to the crank member 321 aboutpivot axis 474 on step 321S1. The drive link 322 may be an elongatedmember having any suitable length and any suitable configuration. Thedrive link 322 may have a proximate end and a distal end where theproximate end may be coupled to the crank member about the pivot axis474 and the distal end may be coupled to the arm 300 in any suitablemanner. In this aspect end effector 300E may have an axis of symmetrySYM (coincident with a longitudinal axis of the end effector) where theend effector 300E is substantially symmetrical about the longitudinalaxis. The distal end of the drive link 322 may be pivotally coupled tothe base 300B of arm 300 about a pivot joint having a pivot axis 472that is positioned along the axis of symmetry SYM of end effector 300E.In other aspects, the pivot joint having pivot axis 472 may bepositioned off of the axis of symmetry SYM in any suitable manner such,as for example, shown in FIG. 3C. In FIG. 3C the base 300B includes aprotrusion to which the drive link 322 is pivotally coupled at pivotaxis 472.

A drive link 323 may be pivotally coupled to the crank member 321 aboutpivot axis 473 on step 321S2. As noted above, the distance between thesteps 321S1, 321S2 may place the drive links on different planes andallow the drive links 322, 323 to pass one over the other. The drivelink 323 may be substantially similar to drive member 322. For example,the drive link 323 may be an elongated member having any suitable lengthand any suitable configuration. The drive link 323 may have a proximateend and a distal end where the proximate end may be coupled to the crankmember about the pivot axis 473 and the distal end may be coupled to thearm 301 in any suitable manner. In this aspect end effector 301E mayhave an axis of symmetry SYM (coincident with a longitudinal axis of theend effector) where the end effector 301E is substantially symmetricalabout the longitudinal axis. The distal end of the drive link 323 may bepivotally coupled to the base 301B of arm 301 about a pivot joint havinga pivot axis 471 that is positioned along the axis of symmetry SYM ofend effector 301E. In other aspects, the pivot joint having pivot axis471 may be positioned off of the axis of symmetry SYM in any suitablemanner such, as for example, on a protrusion of the base member 301B ina manner substantially similar to that described above with respect toFIG. 3C.

As can be seen in FIGS. 4D and 4E a stack height H1 of the crank member321 and drive links 322, 323 may be shared with a height H2 of thebearings 400, 401 and carriages 420, 421. For example, the stack heightH1 may be substantially equal to or less than the height H2 of thebearings and carriages. In other aspects the stack height of the crankmember 321 and drive links 322, 323 may be any suitable stack heightrelative to the bearings 401, 402 and carriages 420, 421.

The crank member 321 and one or more of the drive links 322, 323 maydefine a transmission link or linkage 320. In one aspect one or more ofthe transmission linkage 320 and respective carriage 420, 421/guidemember 400, 401 may be configured to support the respective arms 300,301. In other aspects the transmission linkage 320 may independentlysupport one or more of the arms 300, 301. In still other aspects therespective carriage 420, 421/guide member 400, 401 may be configured toindependently support a respective arm 300, 301. The transmissionlinkage 320 may be a bi-axially rigid link where the term bi-axiallyrigid link means that it is configured to transmit driving force alongan axis in two directions. For example, as the crank member rotates inthe direction of arrow 398A torque applied to the crank member 321 bythe drive 200 is transmitted to the arm 301 by drive link 323 so thatthe arm 301 is pushed to linearly extend along axis ofextension/retraction R2. As the crank member 321 is rotated in thedirection of arrow 398B torque applied to the crank member 321 istransferred to the arm 301 through drive link 323 so that the arm 301 ispulled to linearly retract along axis of extension/retraction R2.Similarly, as the crank member rotates in the direction of arrow 398Btorque applied to the crank member 321 by the drive 200 is transmittedto the arm 300 by drive link 322 so that the arm 300 is pushed tolinearly extend along axis of extension/retraction R1. As the crankmember 321 is rotated in the direction of arrow 398A torque applied tothe crank member 321 is transferred to the arm 300 through drive link322 so that the arm 300 is pulled to linearly retract along axis ofextension/retraction R1. The common crank member 321 and the drive links322, 323 (e.g. the transmission link 320) may be configured such that asone arm 300, 301 extends along a respective axis R1, R2 the other one ofthe arms 300, 301 (e.g. the trailing arm) remains substantiallystationary or static along the axis R1, R2 or moves minimally at the endof crank member 321 stroke along the axis R1, R2 (e.g. there issubstantially no residual motion of the static arm/end effector whichmay allow for increased extension/retraction speeds of the endeffectors). In one aspect the transmission linkage 320 may form a lostmotion linkage. In other aspects, any suitable linkage may couple thedrive 200 to the arms 300, 301. For example, suitable linkages aredescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,946,800 entitled “Substrate TransportApparatus with Multiple Independently Movable Articulated Arms” issuedon May 24, 2011 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/117,415 entitled“Substrate Transport Apparatus with Multiple Movable Arms Utilizing aMechanical Switch Mechanism” filed on May 8, 2008 and Ser. No.13/113,476 entitled “Substrate Transport Apparatus with MultipleIndependently Movable Articulated Arms” filed on May 23, 2011 thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Each drive link 322, 323 and/or the crank member 321 may be configuredsuch that the drive link 322, 323 is arranged at any suitablepredetermined angle θ′ relative to the axis of extension/retraction R1,R2 when the arms are in a retracted position as shown in FIG. 3B, wherethe retracted position may be a position of the arms 300, 301 resultingfrom when the drive motor driving the crank member 321 is at a homeposition. In one aspect the distal end of each drive link may include asubstantially rigid elbow portion 322H, 323H that extends away from arespective end effector 300E, 301E (see FIG. 3A where elbow portion ofdrive link 322 driving arm 300 extends away from end effector 300E andelbow portion of drive link 323 driving arm 301 extends away from endeffector 310E). The elbow portions 322H, 323H may offset a portion of arespective drive link 322, 323 from the respective pivot axis 473, 474to decrease the angle θ′ when compared to a substantially straight drivelink. In one aspect The angle θ′ may be a predetermined angle thatprovides a mechanical advantage to the crank member 321 when the crankmember 321 is substantially perpendicular to the axis ofextension/retraction R1, R2 (e.g. in the home position) to allow thetransmission linkage 320 to push the arm 300, 301 for extension (e.g. apredetermined kinematic angle is maintained to extend/retract the arms).The elbow portion 322H, 323H may also be configured so that an angle θ″between the drive link 322, 323 and a respective axis ofextension/retraction when the arm 300, 301 is fully extended forpicking/placing substrates S (see FIG. 3A) provides for substantially noor substantially minimal movement of the trailing arm 300, 301 (e.g.there is substantially no residual motion of the static arm/endeffector) which may allow for increased extension/retraction speeds ofthe end effectors.

The substantially rigid elbow portion 322H, 323H and/or the crank member231 may be configured to, for example, allow the drive links to crossover one another with no penalty in reach (e.g. extension distance) ofthe arms 300, 301 while providing for a reduced combined arm length whenthe arms are fully retracted. For example, the substantially rigid elbowportion 322H, 323H of each drive link 322, 323 may have an interior322HI, 323HI that includes the pivot axis 473, 474 of the other drivelink 322, 323, see e.g. FIG. 3A where the pivot axis 474 of link 322 isincluded in the interior of elbow portion 323HI of drive link 323 whenthe arm 301 is extended. Similarly, the pivot axis 473 of link 323 isincluded in the interior of elbow portion 322HI of drive link 322 whenthe arm 300 is extended.

As may be realized, the transmission linkage 320 is coupledsubstantially directly to a drive shaft of drive 200 without bandsand/or belts to increase the stiffness of the transmission linkage 320when compared to band/belt driven arms. As may also be realized, theshallow rake or angle θ″ of the drive links 322, 323 and/orinterconnected/nested configuration of the transmission linkage 320relative to the drive 200 and arms 300, 301 may provide a mechanicaladvantage when one arm is extended to stiffen the transmission linkage320 and/or the arms 300, 301 so that the transmission linkage 320 mayhave a stiffness that defines sub-25 micron definition of end effector300E, 301E movement.

While the transfer unit module 104 is described above as having twotransfer arms 300, 301 on a single base member 310 in other aspects asingle transfer arm may be located on a single base member 310. In stillother aspects, one or more base members 310 may be stacked one above theother such that each base member 310 includes at least one transfer arm300, 301. The stacked base members 310 and the respective transfer armsmay be driven by a common drive section or the drive motors for drivingthe at least one transfer arm 300, 301 of a respective base member 310may be distributed within the transfer unit module. While the arms 300,301 of transfer unit module 104 are illustrated in FIGS. 3A-4C asopposing arms (e.g. the arms extend in opposing directions) in otheraspects the arms and the transmission linkage my have any suitablearrangement/configuration relative to one another. For example, FIG. 5Aillustrates a transfer unit module 104A in accordance with aspects ofthe disclosed embodiment. The transfer unit module 104A may besubstantially similar to the transfer unit modules described herein. Inthis aspect the base member 310FA is coupled to one drive shaft 280S ofthe drive 200 (FIGS. 2A and 2B) while a common crank member 321A iscoupled to another drive shaft 280AS of the drive 200. Here the crankmember extends on opposite sides of the common axis 470 so as to have aproximate central portion (which may be coupled to the drive 200 in anysuitable manner) and opposing distal ends. Drive link 322 may bepivotally coupled to a distal end at pivot axis 474A for coupling thearm 300 to the crank member 321A in a manner substantially similar tothat described above. Drive link 323 may be pivotally coupled to theopposing distal end at pivot axis 473A to couple the crank member 321Ato the arm 301 in a manner substantially similar to that describedabove. In this aspect an independent degree of freedom along the axis ofextension/retraction R for each arm and rotation of the arms as a unitin the direction of arrow T about common axis 470 is achieved with a twodrive axis drive section. The transfer unit module 104A may operate in amanner substantially similar to that described above such that as crankmember 321A rotates in the direction of arrow 398A drive link 322 pushesarm 300 to extend along axis R1 while arm 301 remains substantiallystationary and/or is retracted from an extended position. As crankmember 321A rotates in the direction of arrow 398B drive link 323 pushesarm 301 to extend along axis R1 while arm 301 remains substantiallystationary and/or is retracted from an extended position. Here theextension and retraction of arms 300, 301 is coupled but in otheraspects the extension and retraction of the arms 300, 301 may beuncoupled by providing separate and distinct independently driven crankmember for each arm 300, 301 as described herein.

FIG. 5C illustrates a transfer unit module 104B in accordance with anaspect of the disclosed embodiment. The transfer unit module 104B may besubstantially similar to those described herein. In this aspect the basemember 310FB is coupled to a drive shaft 280S of the drive 200 in amanner substantially similar to that described above. A first crankmember 321C may be coupled to a second drive shaft 280AS of the drive200 while a second crank member 321D is coupled to a third drive shaft280BS of the drive 200. Here the crank members may extend from the axis470 towards opposite lateral (e.g. substantially transverse to the axisof extension/retraction) sides of the base member 301FB when the arms300, 301 are in a fully retracted position. In this aspect theextension/retraction of arm 300 is uncoupled from theextension/retraction of arm 301 so that each arm independently extendsin the same direction (compared to the opposing extension directionsillustrated with respect to transfer unit modules 104, 104A). As may berealized, extension of the arms 300, 301 in the same direction may allowfor a fast swapping of substrate from a substrate holding station, suchas processing stations 130. In other aspects the arms 300, 301 mayextend in opposing directions. In this example, each arm 300, 301 isindependently operable so that both arms may extend at the same time orat different times. For example, drive link 322 may couple crank member321C to arm 300 so that as the second drive shaft 280AS rotates, arm 300is driven to extend or retract by the crank member 321C and drive link322 in a manner substantially similar to that described above.Similarly, drive link 323 may couple crank member 321D to arm 301 sothat as the third drive shaft 280BS rotates, arm 301 is driven to extendor retract by the crank member 321D and drive link 323 in a mannersubstantially similar to that described above. In other aspects a commoncrank member may drive the drive links 322, 323 in a manner similar tothat described herein. In this aspect an independent degree of freedomfor each arm along the axis of extension/retraction R and rotation ofthe arms as a unit in the direction of arrow T about common axis 470 isachieved with a three drive axis drive section.

FIG. 5D illustrates a transfer unit module 104E in accordance with anaspect of the disclosed embodiment. The transfer unit module 104E may besubstantially similar to those described herein. In this aspect the arms300, 301 are arranged to extend in the same direction as described withrespect to FIG. 5C. In other aspects the arms 300, 301 may extend inopposing directions. In this aspect the extension and retraction of thearms 300, 301 is coupled in a manner substantially similar to thatdescribed above with respect to FIG. 5A so that an independent degree offreedom along the axis of extension/retraction R for each arm androtation of the arms as a unit in the direction of arrow T about commonaxis 470 is achieved with a two drive axis drive section. For example, adrive link 322B may be pivotally coupled at pivot axis 474A to a distalend of the common crank member 321 for coupling the arm 300 to the crankmember 321A in a manner substantially similar to that described above. Adrive link 323B may be pivotally coupled to the opposite distal end ofthe common crank member 321A for coupling the arm 301 to the crankmember 321A in a manner substantially similar to that described above.In other aspects each drive link may be coupled to an independentlyrotatable crank member for uncoupled operation of each arm 300, 301 in amanner substantially similar to that described herein so that anindependent degree of freedom for each arm along the axis ofextension/retraction R and rotation of the arms as a unit in thedirection of arrow T about common axis 470 is achieved with a threedrive axis drive section. In this aspect the drive links 322B, 323B maybe substantially straight rigid links that extend from the crank member321A to the respective arm 300, 301 in a direction that is generallytowards the respective end effector 300E, 301E. The transfer unit module104E may operate in a manner substantially similar to that describedabove such that as crank member 321A rotates in the direction of arrow398A drive link 323B pushes arm 301 to extend along axis R2 while arm300 remains substantially stationary and/or is retracted from anextended position. As crank member 321A rotates in the direction ofarrow 398B drive link 322B pushes arm 300 to extend along axis R1 whilearm 301 remains substantially stationary and/or is retracted from anextended position.

FIG. 5E illustrates a transfer unit module 104C in accordance with anaspect of the disclosed embodiment. The transfer unit module 104C may besubstantially similar to those described herein. In this aspect the basemember 310FC is coupled to a drive shaft 280S of the drive 200 in amanner substantially similar to that described above. A first crankmember 321C may be coupled to a second drive shaft 280AS of the drive200 while a second crank member 321D is coupled to a third drive shaft280BS of the drive 200. Here the crank members may extend from the axis470 towards a common lateral (e.g. substantially transverse to the axisof extension/retraction) side of the base member 301FC when the arms300, 301 are in a fully retracted position. In this aspect theextension/retraction of arm 300 is uncoupled from theextension/retraction of arm 301 so that each arm independently extendsin the same direction (compared to the opposing extension directionsillustrated with respect to transfer unit modules 104, 104A). In otheraspects the arms 300, 301 may extend in opposing directions. In thisaspect an independent degree of freedom for each arm along the axis ofextension/retraction R and rotation of the arms as a unit in thedirection of arrow T about common axis 470 is achieved with a threedrive axis drive section. In this example, each arm 300, 301 isindependently operable so that both arms may extend at the same time orat different times. For example, drive link 322 may couple crank member321C to arm 300 so that as the second drive shaft 280AS rotates, arm 300is driven to extend or retract by the crank member 321C and drive link322 in a manner substantially similar to that described above.Similarly, drive link 323 may couple crank member 321D to arm 301 sothat as the third drive shaft 280BS rotates, arm 301 is driven to extendor retract by the crank member 321D and drive link 323 in a mannersubstantially similar to that described above.

Referring now to FIGS. 5F, 6A and 6B a transfer unit module 104D isillustrated in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment. Thetransfer unit module 104D may be substantially similar to thosedescribed herein. In this aspect the transfer unit module 104D isconfigured to picking/placing substrates substantially simultaneously orat different times into side by side substrate holding stations, such asillustrated in FIGS. 1B-1D. In this aspect at least a 5 axis drivesystem may be provided so that each arm 300, 301, 300A, 301A has anindependent degree of freedom along a respective axis ofextension/retraction R and for rotation of the arms as a unit aboutcommon axis 470. In other aspects additional drive axes may be providesuch as to provide each base member 310F1, 310F2 with an independentZ-axis movement, providing each base member 310F1, 310F2 with a commonZ-axis movement, pivoting of one or more base members 310F1, 310F2 andmovement of one or more base members 310F1, 310F2 in the direction Y asdescribed herein. The base member may include a drive interface portion660 (FIG. 6B) and one or more transfer arm portions 310F1, 310F2 mountedside-by-side (or in any other suitable arrangement) to the driveinterface portion 660. Each transfer arm portion 310F1, 310F2 may besubstantially similar to one or more of transfer arm portions 371, 371A,371B, 371C, 371E (FIGS. 5A-5E) described above. As may be realized, asthe drive interface portion 660 is rotated about common axis 470 thetransfer arm portions 371D, 371Da rotate with it as a unit. In thisaspect the transfer arm portions 310F1, 310F2 are illustrated as beingsubstantially similar to transfer arm portion 371C for exemplarypurposes. Here the drive interface portion 660 may be mounted to ashaft, such as shaft 280S, of the drive 200 in a manner substantiallysimilar to that described above. The transfer arm portions 310F1, 310F2may be mounted to the drive interface portion 660 in any suitablemanner. In one aspect the transfer arm portions 310F1, 310F2 may bestationarily mounted to the drive interface portion 660 in any suitablemanner such that a distance and angle between the axes of extension andretraction R1, R2, R1A, R2A of the transfer arm portions 310F1, 310F2are fixed. In other aspects, as will be described below, one or more ofthe distance and angle between the axes of extension and retraction ofthe transfer arm portions 310F1, 310F2 may be adjustable to allow, forexample, automatic workpiece/substrate centering using any suitablesensors, such as sensors 123A, 123B located to detect a substrate S in atransfer chamber in a manner substantially similar to that described in,for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/617,333 entitled “WaferCenter Finding with Kalman Filter” filed on Sep. 14, 2012 and U.S. Pat.No. 7,925,378 entitled “Process Apparatus with On-The-Fly WorkpieceCentering” issued on Apr. 12, 2011; U.S. Pat. No. 7,859,685 entitled“Wafer Center Finding with Charge-Coupled Devices” issued on Dec. 28,2010; U.S. Pat. No. 8,270,702 entitled “Wafer Center Finding with aKalman Filter” issued on Sep. 18, 2012; U.S. Pat. No. 7,792,350 entitled“Wafer Center Finding” issued on Sep. 7, 2010; U.S. Pat. No. 7,894,657entitled “Wafer Center Finding” issued Feb. 22, 2011; U.S. Pat. No.8,125,652 entitled “Wafer Center Finding with Charge-Coupled Devices”issued Feb. 28, 2012; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,253,945 entitled “Wafer CenterFinding with Charge-Coupled Devices” issued Aug. 28, 2012 thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Referring also to FIG. 6C, in this example, each transfer arm portion371D, 371DA includes a base member 310F1, 310F2 and a drive 200A, 200Hmounted to each base member 310F1, 310F2. The drive 200A, 200B mayinclude one or more drive motors 601A, 601B that are at least partiallymounted in any suitable manner within each drive housing 200AH, 200BH.The drive housing 200AH, 200BH forms a sealed chamber which when mountedto the drive interface portion 660 (which also forms a sealed chamber)is in sealed atmospheric communication with an interior of the drive 200so that the motors of the drives 200, 200A, 200B are located within anatmospheric environment that is isolated or sealed from an environmentin which the arms 300, 301, 300A, 301A operate. Each drive 200A, 200Bmay include one or more suitable drive motors 601A, 601B and one or moretransmission linkage 320A, 320B substantially similar to those motorsand transmission linkage described above. In this aspect each drivemotor 601A, 601B may be a rotary drive motor that includes two driveshafts where one drive shaft rotates a respective one of crank member321C, 321E and another drive shaft rotates a respective one of crankmember 321D, 321F for operating each transfer arm portion in a mannersubstantially similar to that described above. Here the axis of rotationof the crank members 321C, 321D (which may be coincident with an axis ofration of drive 601B) and the axis of rotation of crank members 321E,321F (which may be coincident with an axis of ration of drive 601A) areoffset from the common axis of rotation 470. As may be realized, anysuitable encoders/position sensors may be located on the drive shafts ofthe drive motors 601A, 601B. In another aspect any suitableencoders/positions sensors may be disposed adjacent tracks 400, 401,400A, 401A for detecting a position of a respective carriage 420, 421(see e.g. FIGS. 4A-4E). The encoders/positions sensors located adjacentthe tracks 400, 401, 400A, 401A may be enclosed or otherwise sealed inany suitable manner in any suitable enclosure, such as a thin walledenclosure, for isolating the encoders/positions sensors from theenvironment in which the robot arm operate. Examples of sensorsoperating through a separation wall or enclosure wall can be found in,for example, U.S. provisional patent application Nos. 61/903,726entitled “Position Feedback for Sealed Environments” filed on Nov. 13,2013 and 61/903,813 entitled “Sealed Robot Drive” filed on Nov. 13, 2013the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

As noted above, one or more of the transfer arm portions 371D, 371DA maybe movably mounted to the drive interface portion 660. For example,referring to FIGS. 6B, in one aspect one or more of the transfer armportions 371D, 371DA may be mounted to a respective movable sealingmember 661A, 661B in any suitable manner. In one aspect the respectivemovable sealing member 661A, 661B may be mounted to housing 200AH, 200BHof the transfer arm portions 371D, 371DA. The movable sealing member661A, 661B is mounted to the drive interface portion 660 in any suitablemanner so as to move linearly in the direction Y. The movable sealingmember 661 may be configured to support a respective transfer armportion 371D, 371D1 for movement in a direction Y transverse to thedirection of extension/retraction R. The movable sealing member 661A,661B may be configured to allow movement of the transfer arm portions371D, 371DA relative to the drive interface portion 660 whilemaintaining a sealed atmosphere within the drive housing 200AH, 200BHand the drive interface portion 660. One or more suitable linear drives710 may be disposed within the drive interface portion 660 for driving arespective movable sealing member 661A, 661B in the direction Y forchanging one or more of a distance D between axes ofextension/retraction R1, R2 of transfer arm portion 371D and axes ofextension/retraction R1A, R2A of transfer arm portion 371DA and adistance D1, D2 between the common axis 470 and respective axes ofextension/retraction R1, R2, R1A, R2A of transfer arm portions 371D,371DA. In one aspect, as shown in FIG. 6B, both transfer arm portions371D, 371DA may move in the direction Y while in other aspects, as shownin FIGS. 7A and 7B only one transfer arm portion 371DA (or 371D) may bemovable in the direction Y while the other transfer arm portion 371D (or371DA) is mounted to the drive interface portion 660 by a fixed supportmember 700 so as to be stationary in the direction Y relative to thedrive interface portion 660.

Referring now to FIGS. 8A and 8B one or more of the transfer armportions 371D, 371DA may be pivotable relative to another one of thedrive portions 371D, 371DA for changing the angle β between the axes ofextension/retraction R1, R2, R1A, R2A for allowing automatic workpiececentering and/or aligning the axis of extension/retraction with angledfacets 100F1-100F8 of a transfer chamber such that the angle β issubstantially equal to the angle α, θ between facets (see FIGS. 1A and1C) for transport substrates to and from processing stations 130 coupledto the facets. For example, the transfer unit module 104D1, which may besubstantially similar to one or more transfer unit modules describedabove, may include a drive interface portion 660A substantially similarto drive interface portion 660. In this aspect the drive interfaceportion 660A may be configured for coupling to drive housing 200BH oftransfer arm portion 371DA in any suitable manner such as, for example,by fixed support member 700. The drive interface portion 660A may alsobe configured for coupling with drive housing 200AH′ (which may besubstantially similar to drive housing 200AH described above) oftransfer arm portion 371D. Here the drive interface portion 660A mayinclude any suitable drive motor 800 (which may be substantially similarto one or more of the drive motors described above). A drive shaft 800Dmay extend through a wall of the drive interface portion 660A forcoupling to the housing 200AH′ so that the transfer arm portion 371D ispivotable about an axis X1 (that is common to each arm of the transferarm portion 371D) in the direction of arrow T2 for changing the angle β.As may be realized, one or more substrates S held by arms of transferarm portion 371DA may be centered relative to a substrate holdingstation (e.g. such as processing stations 130) by, for example, rotatingboth the transfer arm portion 371DA and the drive interface portion 660Aas a unit about common axis 470 while one or more substrates S held byarms of the transfer arm portion 371D may be centered by rotating thetransfer arm portion 371D about axis X1.

In other aspects, as can be seen in FIG. 8C the drive housings 200AH′,200BH′ (which may be substantially similar to drive housing 200AH′) ofboth transfer arm portions 371D, 371DA may be pivotally mounted to thedrive interface portion 660A′ (which may be substantially similar tobase member 660A such that each drive portion is configured to pivotabout a respective axis X1, X2 in a respective direction T1, T2 by arespective drive 800 to change the angle β. Here automatic workpiececentering may be performed by rotating one or more of transfer armportion 371D, 371DA independent of the other by any predeterminedamount. In one aspect both transfer arm portions 371D, 371DA may berotated as a unit about axis 470 while one or more substrates S held bytransfer arm portions 371D, 371DA may be centered by rotating one ormore transfer arm portions 371D, 371DA about a respective axis X1, X2.

In still other aspects, movement of one or more arms of the transfer armportions in the direction Y may also be provided in conjunction withrotation of one or more transfer arm portions 371D, 371DA. For example,referring to FIG. 8D the drive interface portion 660A is configured tocouple with drive housing 200BH through movable sealing member 661B soas to be movable in the direction Y. In other aspects housing 200BH maybe coupled to the drive interface portion by fixed support member 700.Drive housing 200AH′ may be pivotally coupled to the drive interfaceportion 660A in a manner substantially similar to that described abovewith respect to FIGS. 8A-8C. Drive housing 200AH′ may have an apertureto which movable sealing member 661A is coupled and may include a lineardrive motor 710 in a manner substantially similar to that describedabove with respect to drive interface portion 660. Base member 310F1(FIG. 5F) of transfer arm portion 371D may be coupled to the movablesealing member 661A by drive housing 200AH in a manner substantiallysimilar to that described above. In other aspects both of the transferarm portions 371D, 371DA may be mounted to drive interface portion 660Ain any suitable manner.

Referring now to FIGS. 9A and 9B, in one aspect one or more of the drivehousings 200AH, 200BH of transfer arm portions 371D, 371DA may beconfigured to be rotatably coupled to drive section 200 about commonaxis 470 so that one or more transfer arm portion 371D, 371DA may bepivoted about common axis 470 for changing the angle β and to, forexample, allow automatic workpiece centering. For example, drive housing200AH″ (which maybe be substantially similar to housing 200AH describedabove) may be substantially directly coupled to a drive shaft 280S ofdrive section 200 so that as drive shaft 280S rotates the housing 200AH″rotates with the drive shaft 280S. The housing 200BH″ (which may besubstantially similar to housing 200BH described above) may be rotatablymounted to drive housing 200AH″ about common axis 470. For example, anysuitable drive 1200 (which may be substantially similar to the drivemotors describe above) may be disposed within the drive housing 200AH″.The drive housing 200AH″ may include an aperture through which a driveshaft 1200S extends and drive housing 200BH″ may include an aperture towhich the drive shaft 1200S is coupled. As may be realized any suitableseals (such as those described above) may be disposed around the driveshaft, between drive 1200 and drive housing 200AH″ and between driveshaft 1200S and drive housing 200BH″ for maintaining a sealedatmospheric environment within the housings 200AH″, 200BH″ and drivesection 200. In one aspect any suitable bearings 1200B may also beprovided between drive housings 200AH″, 200BH″ while in other aspectsthe bearing may not be included such that housing 200BH″ is supported bythe drive shaft 1200S and the coupling between the drive 1200 and thehousing 200AH″. Here, drives 280 and 1200 may be independently operableso that the transfer arm portions 371D, 371DA may be pivoted relative toone another in any suitable manner about common axis 470 for changingthe angle β. In other aspects one or more of the transfer arm portions371D, 371DA may be movable along in the direction Y. For example,referring to FIG. 9C a drive housing 200AH″′ (which may be substantiallysimilar to drive housing 200AH″) may be provided such that the drivehousing 200AH is coupled to the drive housing 200AH″′ by movable sealingmember 661A in a manner substantially similar to that described abovewith respect to FIG. 8D. Here rotation of one or more drive housing200AH″′ and housing 200BH″ allows for adjustment of angle β whilemovement of drive housing 200AH in the direction Y allows the distanceD1, D2 between an the axes of extension/retraction R1, R2, R1A, R2A andthe common axis 470 (or the distance D) to be adjusted for automaticworkpiece centering.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment atransport apparatus includes a frame; a drive section connected to theframe, the drive section having at least one drive axis; at least onearm having an end effector configured for holding a substrate, the atleast one arm being connected to the drive section by a transmissionlink and having at least one degree of freedom axis effecting extensionand retraction of the end effector with respect to the at least one arm;and a bearing connected to the frame and the end effector, the bearingdefining a guideway that defines the at least one degree of freedomaxis.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thebearing comprises a linear bearing.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thetransmission link comprises a bi-axially rigid link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment atleast one pivoting link connects the bi-axially rigid link to the atleast one arm, where the at least one pivoting link is pivotally coupledto the bi-axially rigid link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment theat last one arm includes a pivot joint connecting the at least one armto the transmission link and a linearly released joint configured toeffect linear movement of the end effector along the at least one degreeof freedom.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thedrive section is a coaxial drive section.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thetransmission link comprises a lost motion switch.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thelost motion switch comprises a crank member torqued by the drive sectionwhere the crank member is connected to at least one respective arm by arespective drive link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment theat least one arm comprises dual arms connected to a common drive axis ofthe drive section, each arm having an end effector and a degree offreedom axis effecting extension and retraction of a respective endeffector independent of the common drive axis.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thedual arms have an opposing relationship so as to extend in oppositedirections for picking and placing substrates.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thedual arms extend in a common direction for picking and placingsubstrates.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment theat least one arm is supported by the transmission link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment theat least one arm is supported by the bearing independent of thetransmission link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thetransmission link includes a rigid elbow.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment therigid elbow extends away from the end effector.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment aninterior of the rigid elbow includes a pivot axis of anothertransmission link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment atransmission stiffness defines sub-25 micron definition of end effectormovement.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thedrive section includes a tri-axis drive.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment theat least one arm comprises dual arms having a common pivot axis andbeing connected to a common drive axis of the tri-axis drive, the commondrive axis being configured to rotate the dual arms as a unit about thepivot axis.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment theat least one arm comprises dual arms where each arm includes a driveaxis for independently extending and retracting a respective arm.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thedrive section is a five axis drive section with a common pivot axis forall arms of the transport apparatus where a common drive axis of thedrive section is connected to all the arms of the transport apparatusand configured to pivot all arms of the transport apparatus about thecommon pivot axis as a unit. In accordance with one or more aspects ofthe disclosed embodiment a process apparatus includes a frame; a drivesection having at least two drive axes; multiple arms, each of themultiple arms having a respective end effector and at least one degreeof freedom axis independent of other ones of the multiple arms; at leastone transmission link connecting the multiple arms to the drive section;and at least one bearing joining the multiple arms to the frame anddefining a degree of freedom axis of at least one arm; wherein the atleast one transmission and the at least one bearing form a stifftransmission effecting end effector movement along the at least onedegree of freedom axis with sub-25 micron definition.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment theat least one transmission link includes a lost motion switch link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thedrive section defines a common drive axis that is common to each arm,the at least one degree of freedom axis being independent of the commondrive axis.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thedrive section is a coaxial rive section.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment atleast two of the multiple arms have an opposing configuration so as toextend in opposite directions for picking and placing substrates.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment atleast two of the multiple arms extend in a common direction for pickingand placing substrates.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment themultiple arms are supported from the at least one transmission link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment themultiple arms are supported from the at least one bearing independent ofthe at least one transmission link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment eachof the at least one transmission link includes a rigid elbow.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment therigid elbow extends away from a respective end effector.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment aninterior of the rigid elbow includes a pivot axis of anothertransmission link.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thedrive section includes a tri-axis drive.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment themultiple arms comprise dual arms having a common pivot axis and beingconnected to a common drive axis of the tri-axis drive, the common driveaxis being configured to rotate the dual arms as a unit about the pivotaxis.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment themultiple arms comprise dual arms where each arm includes a drive axisfor independently extending and retracting a respective arm.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment thedrive section is a five axis drive section with a common pivot axis forall of the multiple arms where a common drive axis of the drive sectionis connected to all the multiple arms and configured to pivot all of themultiple arms about the common pivot axis as a unit.

It should be understood that the foregoing description is onlyillustrative of the aspects of the disclosed embodiment. Variousalternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in theart without departing from the aspects of the disclosed embodiment.Accordingly, the aspects of the disclosed embodiment are intended toembrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances that fallwithin the scope of the appended claims. Further, the mere fact thatdifferent features are recited in mutually different dependent orindependent claims does not indicate that a combination of thesefeatures cannot be advantageously used, such a combination remainingwithin the scope of the aspects of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A process apparatus comprising: a frame; a drivesection having at least two drive axes; multiple arms, each of themultiple arms having a respective end effector and at least one degreeof freedom axis independent of other ones of the multiple arms; at leastone bi-axially rigid transmission link connecting the multiple arms tothe drive section; and at least one anti-friction bearing joining themultiple arms to the frame and defining a degree of freedom axis of atleast one arm; wherein the at least one bi-axially rigid transmissionand the at least one anti-friction bearing form a stiff transmissioneffecting end effector movement along the at least one degree of freedomaxis.
 2. The process apparatus of claim 1, wherein the end effectormovement along the at least one degree freedom axis has sub-25 microndefinition.